Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Christopher Joseph King, 44, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly chasing a man at Campus Walk Apartments and threatening to stab him with a butcher knife.

At about 10:03 a.m. on April 15, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a call from the victim, who said a man he knew as “Wolf” was chasing him around the apartment complex and trying to stab him with a butcher knife. After the victim had been on the phone with a 911 call-taker for about a minute, he said he couldn’t see the man, and he went back to his apartment.

The responding officer reported that as soon as he heard the call over the radio, he knew exactly who “Wolf” was: Christopher King. The officer noted, “The [defendant] is very well-known to many GPD officers and has been for many years.”

The victim said he’d just met “Wolf” about an hour before the incident, and things were fine until they had a disagreement over money; he said “Wolf” became increasingly hostile and threatened him before leaving. About an hour later, “Wolf” returned, saw him in a corridor, and chased him with a knife. The victim said “Wolf” was wearing a ski mask, but he immediately knew it was the same man he had just met.

The victim positively identified King in a photo line-up administered by an officer who was unfamiliar with King.

Surveillance footage from Campus Walk reportedly showed the victim with King in the hallway at about 8:50 a.m.; King can be seen growing increasingly hostile and screaming at the victim. The officer noted that the video clearly showed King’s face. Video from other cameras showed King screaming threats at the victim and swearing he was going to come back and “get them.”

King can be seen walking back to his car, and an unknown individual can be heard yelling, “Wolf! Get in the car, man! Don’t get in no trouble!” A woman can also be seen walking up to King in an attempt to calm him down, and she also calls him “Wolf.”

King can be seen leaving in a car at about 8:56 a.m., and the tag was captured on video. That tag was reportedly on a vehicle that was stopped by an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy about three weeks ago, and King was the sole occupant of the vehicle at that time.

At 9:58 a.m., video shows King hiding his vehicle behind a fence and then walking toward Campus Walk, wearing a ski mask, sunglasses, and gloves and holding a large kitchen knife. He can be heard talking to himself, “clearly still agitated.”

The video shows King walking up a staircase and then greeting someone he obviously knows; that person calls him “Wolf.” King responds that he is looking for people and is “gonna teach them about playin’!”

Less than a minute later, the victim enters a hallway from one end and sees King emerge from the other end. King immediately advances toward the victim, who runs back down the stairs; a large knife can clearly be seen in King’s hand.

Other cameras show the victim running down a hallway and then hiding behind pillars, watching for King. Someone yells that King is “fixin’ to cut your a**, boy!” The victim makes it to his apartment at 10:01 a.m. but has trouble with his keys and can’t get inside before King gets there. King can be heard yelling, “Ima show you, b****!”; the victim gives up trying to get into his apartment and runs again, with King following.

The victim calls 911 while King continues to chase him and eventually tells the call-taker he can no longer see “Wolf.” King could not be located at the time of the incident and was arrested at Carver Gardens Apartments on May 27.

King has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and wearing a mask while committing a criminal offense. King has 23 felony convictions (non-violent) and nine misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he has served eight state prison sentences, with his most recent release in October 2024. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $150,000 plus $2,000 for failing to appear at a hearing on a previous charge of driving without a license.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.